Direct from Bologna

 

 

Direct from Bologna

Finally Fr Norberto arrived in Italy!

Fr Norberto was seriously injured by a landmine while going to the villages for pastoral work and to repair a school on Friday, February 10th. There were six of them in the car, but he was the most seriously injured: one broken leg, and the other had a mangled foot and leg.

The following day he was flown to Bangui by helicopter, and operated on in the UN hospital. On Sunday he had been moved to Kampala, Uganda, where the next day they had to proceed with the amputation of his foot.

From that Monday a marathon began to get him to Italy and complete the treatments. There were times when we feared for his life, and times when we feared further and more serious amputations.

There was a race to win this marathon to get him appropriate treatment, where the obstacles were numerous and sometimes insurmountable.

We had a whole network of affection and prayers that supported Fr. Norberto and all those who worked to make this almost impossible dream come true: our Mission Office of Arenzano, with Fr. Davide Sollami, the lead, our Carmelite Province, the Nunciature in Uganda, our Italian Embassies in Uganda and Cameroon, the Rizzoli hospital in Bologna, the Italian Red Cross and many friends, known and unknown, who all over the world took action with prayer and support.

Finally, after constant delays and updates, Thursday evening Fr. Norberto, accompanied by Fr. Federico Trinchero and a doctor, left the Kampala hospital, with sirens blaring, towards Entebbe airport.

From there they left with a KLM flight, and when they were finally on the plane we breathed a sigh of relief.

On Friday morning I left Arenzano with Fr. Davide Sollami at 5am heading towards Bologna. At the airport we met with the Red Cross team, and we got to the runway.  Finally we saw a small red plane, the air ambulance, landing.  We were able to greet Fr. Federico and, above all, Fr. Norberto.

We left in the convoy with sirens blaring, and we crossed into Bologna, to arrive at the Rizzoli Institute, one of the best Italian hospitals for orthopedics.

Here, outside the emergency room, the doctors were already waiting for us. There was even the head physician, Prof. Marco Innocenti, and they immediately welcomed Fr. Norberto and started examining and visiting with him.

After about an hour, the chief physician joined us and gave us some good news: the wound, albeit serious, was in good condition, and the prognosis was quite good: there will be further operations, another small amputation to prepare the leg for a prosthetic, and a long rehabilitation process.

In the meantime Claudio Pozzi, Fr. Norberto's brother, arrived from Lecco with his wife. He is a doctor and has constantly followed his brother in this ugly adventure.

In the afternoon, the provincial, Fr Saverio, also arrived and we could finally spend some time together with Fr Norberto, who now settled in the ward. He's in good spirits, getting his appetite back, and in his spunk too! For now, his morale is high, and his reaction encourages us. Not everyone is able to go through such a serious accident and in turn look ahead and make plans for the future!

I feel like saying: GO FR. NORBERTO! But it is he, Fr. Norberto, who gives us strength!

We continue to accompany him with prayer and affection. 

 

Also, for those who can, with financial support: the costs of transport in Italy are huge, and our Public Prosecutor's Office has launched a fundraiser:

Let's do everything possible together so that he can walk again.

Help us support the necessary expenses, even a small donation can make a difference.

𝐼 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖 𝑔𝑙𝑖 𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑖 𝑑𝑖 𝑃𝑎𝑑𝑟𝑒 𝑁𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑜 𝑖 𝑃𝑎𝑑𝑟𝑖 𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑖 𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑖

HOW YOU CAN DONATE:

✅IBAN: IT 42 D 05034 31830 000000010043

Payable to: Missioni Carmelitane Liguri Convento dei Carmelitani Scalzi

Reason: Father Norberto Pozzi emergency

✅ With PayPal: You can send a donation to missioni@carmeloligure.it

The horror of the landmines, the silence of some and the love of many

 

 

La macchina di p.Norberto, dopo l'incidente
La voiture du p.Norberto, après l'accident

The horror of the landmines, the silence of some and the love of many

Last week I wrote about schools that were to be expanded and the school openings in the villages of the savannah.

On the way repair a school in Bokpayan, a village about 60 km from Bozoum, Fr. Norberto almost lost his life due to a landmine.

On Friday I was in Bouar, where the "Femmes Chretiennes Catholiques" association organized the 13th Agricultural Fair. It was started in 2013, due to the great success of the Bozoum Fair, this year it received the support of "Friends of Betharram", of "jango Be Africa" and, above all, of ENABEL, the Belgian cooperation.

We had many cooperatives come from all over the area, and two trucks arrived from Bocaranga and Ngaundaye (160 and 240 km).

In the afternoon as I was about to return to Baoro, I received terrible news: the car of Fr Norberto Pozzi, a Carmelite missionary, was destroyed by a landmine on the road that leads to Bocaranga, just 22 km from Bozoum.

There were 6 of them in the car: Fr Norberto, Brother Igor (a young French Carmelite), 2 bricklayers, a carpenter and the head of the village schools of the Mission.

The landmine exploded as the car passed, right on the driver's side of Fr. Norberto. He was the most seriously injured: both his legs were injured, but it was far worse on his left side, where the explosion caused the most damage, tearing tissue and breaking bones.

A motorcycle transported him immediately to the hospital. But 22 km is long, especially in those conditions. Here he underwent an operation to try to clean the wound and remove the splinters from the injury.

In the meantime, a whole series of events began to try to move him to Bangui as soon as possible. The Italian ambassador of Yaounde (Cameroon),  on which Central Africa relies heavily on, managed to alert the blue helmets of MINUSCA. Unfortunately the helicopter could not travel at night, so the transport took place on Saturday morning.

Fr. Norberto spent the night at the local hospital, and around 7:15 am the helicopter airlifted off from Bozoum and headed towards Bangui.

Here we had a moment of confusion. Instead of taking him to the UN hospital, he was transported to the "Communautaire" hospital, where they were unable to do anything, and precious time was wasted.

Finally, around midday, Fr. Norberto was taken to the UN hospital, with help from the Serbian faction, where they decided to operate on him right away.

In the meantime I had left Bangui and arrived at 1:00pm, and at 3:30pm I was at the UN hospital. Br. Igor was also there, and was under observation (he was not as seriously injured as Fr. Norberto).

So a long wait began. After more than 3 hours of surgery, Fr. Norberto left the operating room. He was intubated and sedated, but it was evident that he was in excruciating pain. The surgeon (albeit a very good one) told us that they were trying to avoid amputation, and explained what he did.  He told us that the next day the plan was to move him to Uganda, to a better equipped hospital.

I returned to Carmel, and on Sunday morning I went back to the hospital. Fr Norberto was in the intensive care unit, still sedated.  He was calmer, and I managed to bless him and whisper a prayer to him and the embrace of many people who were also praying for him.

Just before 12 I saw him being moved onto a stretcher and taken to the ambulance. He left for Uganda, where he arrived a few hours later in Kampala.

Monday morning I got a call from Uganda. Someone from the hospital called me and told me that Fr. Norberto was fine, his breathing tube had been removed, and he was speaking.  He was the one who gave my phone number (even though it is an easy number to remember, it was still a sign that he was alert), and it was a good sign.

In the meantime there was a lot of work going on behind the scenes. Fr. Federico, the superior of the Central African delegation, was in Cameroon, and coordinated the movements. It was above all the Italian Embassy that co-ordinated most of the efforts to help Father.  By Monday morning the Italian ambassador from Uganda was at Fr. Norberto's bedside.  Finally we were able to see him as well: they trimmed his beard a bit, and he was smiling and this gives us hope.

In the afternoon they decided to operate on him once more.  Unfortunately the doctors found the situation had worsened, and decided to amputate the left foot, but at least his life was saved.

These past few days there has been a wave of affection and prayer. Fr Norberto has been in Central Africa since 1980, and is a well known figure in the communities. Between Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, mail, etc., it is truly a whole world effort that brings prayers and affection for him. They wrote from Italy, Central Africa, Cameroon, USA, France, Prague, India, Congo, England, Belgium, Rwanda, etc. Even radio and newspapers spoke and wrote about it.

An unknown person wrote to me from Uganda on Monday evening, and offered to assist Fr. Norberto!  On Tuesday he wrote to me again, and around 12:00pm he was in Fr. Norberto's room, and he handed the phone to him to speak to me!

It was the usual Fr. Norberto: cheerful, a little light-hearted, and I can actually see him being so positive. Despite the foot, he is in a good mood! A man of faith, of great charity, and of prayer and sacrifice.

Unfortunately, the issue of landmines is very serious. In 2023 alone, in these first few weeks, there were 14 incidences, an average of 2 per week. With heavy tolls of 7 dead and 9 injured (https://mcusercontent.com/ec65ff95b00a3e0f330508b82/files/ddf29128-7f1b-9caa-9661-f2b723f229bf/Worrying_magnitude_explosive_devices_FV.pdf ) In the areas occupied by the rebels, they put them on the streets , to prevent Russian soldiers and mercenaries from passing through, and to maintain tension and terror.

It has been a year and a half now that landmines have been used in this country. It is not easy to detect them, and it is not possible to control the roads and prevent the rebels from putting them up or moving them.

Even though there has been a huge amount of attention and prayer, along with many media outlets having talked about it, there is silence from the Central African government . No voices were raised to protest, or to announce a greater commitment of the Security Forces. Maybe they are too busy changing the constitution in order to have a third term in office…

 

Courage.

Now I am leaving for a few weeks in Italy. This will allow me with time and opportunity to meet, and to talk about Central Africa, and about what we can do and what there is still to do.

See you soon!

Schools expanding, and a second Agricultural Fair

 

Bawi, la scuola
école de Bawi

Schools expanding, a second Agricultural Fair

On Sunday I celebrated Mass in Bawi.

We also have a primary school here. Built more than twenty years ago, it now welcomes more than 350 children.  The classrooms have remained the same size as when we only had 100 students! I therefore took advantage of the visit to take measurements and see how it can be expanded, creating 3 beautiful large classrooms.

On Tuesday I went to Yoro, Bayanga Didi and Igwe, the most distant villages, for a quick visit.

I arrived at 8.05 in Yoro (75 km from Baoro), and I enjoyed the spectacle of the children in line, who were about to enter school. I was very happy, because I wasn't expected, and I found the three teachers at work, with about 200 children in the class, it was a great joy. The school previously was not fully functioning, but now it is open regularly. Every month we give a small stipend to the teachers (which should be paid by the village), and this has gotten the school up and running again.

Even in Bayanga Didi, 5 kilometers away, children were in class. On the blackboard, where in June there were still the lessons from April 20, 2021…, now there is today's date: February 7, 2023.

I continued on to Igwe, on the "almost" road that crosses the savannah, and here I found the machinery of the company that is digging the well. They had tried a few months ago, at the beginning of the rainy season, but the earth was too wet, so now it's the right time!

Today, February 10, I'm in Bouar for the Agricultural Fair. As Caritas we started doing this here in 2010. Now it continues, with a special thanks to the Femmes Chretiennes Catholiques Association, and to the help of Enabel, and a couple of Italian associations ("Jiango Be Africa" and "Amici di Betharram") 

Despite the insecurity, we managed to get 2 trucks from Ndim and Ngaundaye to come, and there were more than 180 cooperatives present.

Here too we try to repeat the experience of the Bozoum Fair, as an exhibition and sales space: an opportunity for the many farmers in the area.

 

 

Finalmente la scuola di Bayanga Didi funziona!
Enfin, l'école de Bayanga Didi fonctionne!

 

Bawi

 

Yoro: inizio delle lezioni
Yoro: le commencement des léçons

Bayanga Didi

Igwe

La 13a Fiera di Bouar
La 13è Foire agricole de Bouar

L'artista Beachman Handicapable

 

 

 

 

 

The Great Bozoum Fair

 

The Great Bozoum Fair

With this entry, the Bozoum Agricultural and Pastoral Fair has arrived, year after year, this being year 18.

The Fair is a unique event in the country: there is nothing like it in all of Central Africa. It is a space for the viewing and sale of agricultural products, in which the cooperatives of the region participate. The furthest away come from Ngaundaye, Ndim and Bocaranga: regions where this much violence.  Here we want to help them come, at all costs.

Up util Monday the 23rd we were unsure whether or not to proceed with the faie, due to the presence of rebels in the area. There was also the issue that all the roads leading to Bozoum were damaged or cut off. From Bocaranga it would normally be 125 km, but now you have to go through Bouar, which totals 270km!  This has had a huge impact on the cost of transporting goods, which has practically tripled in 3 years!

The diocesan Caritas created the fair in 2004, and continues to do so, with the help of the "Missionary Friendship" foundation of the Carmelites of Arenzano. This year the Belgian cooperation (Enabel) has also given us a helping hand.  This has made it possible to transport, set up the stands and set everything up.

For Bozoum these are days of great celebration and fruitful economic exchanges. The turnover this year is approximately 70 million cfa employees (about 105,000 euros). It is a considerable figure, in a country where the per capita product is around 400 euros per year!

On Wednesday afternoon I left Baoro for Bozoum, together with the Caritas team. On site were the other volunteers: a well-organized team used to doing this job.

Thursday morning we put some lights on the stands, to have light during the night.  In the evening the cooperatives began to arrive. The 3 trucks from Bocaranga, Ndim and Ngaundaye will arrive in the night and the following days, because they got stuck in the mud 12km from Bozoum!

Friday morning, January 27, everything will be ready. The last year students of our St. Augustin high school are pristine in their uniforms, and during the 3 days of the fair they will be quite helpful, both in welcoming the cooperatives as well as collecting data and helping with sales.

At 9am the team from the Ministry of Agriculture arrived; the Cabinet Director, and other directors (who will follow the entire Fair with pleasure and attention). It began with a few short speeches, and with the parade of cooperatives, which proudly presented some of their products.

After the ceremony we visited all the stands, and at the end the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture met with the authorities and some representatives of the cooperatives and the population, for a couple of hours to listen to the issues and hopes of Bozoum and the region.

The stands are a melody of colors and smiles: the work of so many months found here within beauty of the products, the joy of exhibiting (and showing the positive aspect of agriculture) and the satisfaction of selling so many products in a short time.

In the afternoon we began visiting the vegetable gardens in the city.

Here we found two great and beautiful surprises: the number of gardens has doubled this year (reaching over 5 hectares), and among the 39 gardens, 5 belong to young students from the local middle and high schools. A indicator that the work of the gardens is seen as a possibility of growth and development.

Saturday morning the Fair resumed, and we once again visited other gardens: we didn't want to leave anyone disappointed: while in front of gardens that look like paintings, with lots of vegetables whose green stands out between the red of the earth and the direct sun we are energized with the fruits of everyone's labor.

On Saturday afternoon I put the scores together: we had two competitions, one for exhibitors and another for vegetable gardens.  There will be prizes for the best in each category.

Sunday morning I celebrated Mass at 6.15, and then the Fair resumed. In the afternoon we concluded with a small award ceremony for the best exhibitors, the most beautiful vegetable gardens, but also for the 5 boys and girls who created their own vegetable garden.

It was all very simple, but there was a lot of joy, and a lot of pride in the faces of the awarded young men and women. Not surprisingly, the title of the Fair is "Orgueil paysan". Farmer's pride!

 

 

La Fiera
La Foire

 

La valle degli orti
La vallée des jardins potagers

 

 

Gli alunni del liceo St Augustin
Les élèves du Lycée St Augustin